Dodier sets STA scoring record in win

By JAY PINSONNAULT

Portsmouth Herald

fosters.com

By JAY PINSONNAULT

Portsmouth Herald

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By JAY PINSONNAULT

Portsmouth Herald

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 3:15 AM

PORTSMOUTH — St. Thomas Aquinas field hockey coach Sara Carpenter said junior Gabbi Dodier had two goals going into Wednesday’s Division II game against Portsmouth.The first was to win and get the Saints closer to locking up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament.The second was to establish a new St. Thomas single-season scoring record.Check and check.Dodier scored two goals and led St. Thomas to its seventh straight victory with a 3-1 win over Portsmouth, breaking E.C. Chojnicki’s record of 17 goals set in 2009.“(Dodier) is certainly a game-changer for us, but there has to be somebody getting her the ball,” Carpenter said. “She is good at finishing, very good, and that’s what we needed. She’s a fighter and a scrambler and she generates a lot of our offense. Her speed coming down the left side of the field is certainly something we need and we like to have. She’s our little sparkplug.”Brooke Matthews gave Portsmouth a 1-0 lead with 7:15 left in the first half, sending the Clipper sideline into jubilation.“We came out flat today and we weren’t prepared,” Carpenter said. “Portsmouth had nothing to lose and we had everything to lose. Portsmouth came out wanting it more than we did. I think that goal they scored was a wake-up call for us. We haven’t had to play down much this season, so that goal kind of snapped us back into reality. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game — no game is easy — and Portsmouth always plays us tough and for whatever reason we weren’t as prepared as we needed to be.”The Clipper celebration was short-lived as St. Thomas junior Riley Kane tied the game on a one-timer with 4:47 left in the half. Dodier gave the Saints a 2-1 lead with 41 seconds remaining.“Getting those two goals late in the half was a huge momentum-changer for us and I think we played much better in the second half,” Carpenter said.“Whenever you lose a lead like that it hurts, but it was nice to be up for the short time that we were,” Portsmouth coach Shannon Fernald said. “This has been reminiscent of our whole season. We push and we push and we push real hard, but we just can’t seem to finish.”Portsmouth suffered its sixth straight loss and fell to 2-11 on the season. The Clippers, who have not won since a 2-1 home victory over Goffstown on Sept. 19, will conclude their season on Friday against Bishop Brady. They have been outscored 26-7 this season and shut out eight times.“I feel bad for the seniors who were part of winning teams in the past, and for them to be seniors and not make it to the tournament, that’s really tough,” Fernald said. “It hasn’t been a bad year for us; it just hasn’t been a winning year.”Dodier gave the Saints some breathing room with a goal midway through the second half, beating Portsmouth goalie Brittany Linane.St. Thomas wraps up its regular season on Friday with a home game against Kennett. Carpenter believes a win would secure the No. 2 seed for the Saints in the upcoming tournament. The Saints lost in last year’s Division II semifinals to eventual state champion Bow.“It starts all over in the tournament; everyone has a clean slate come tournament time,” Carpenter said.